Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer

This saliva collection kit was used for immune system research in space. Blood, urine, and saliva carry information about immune system status and the presence of bacteria and viruses. Some researchers studying the effects of long-duration spaceflight on the human body devise experiments that involve collecting and freezing these fluids for post-flight analysis.

This saliva collection kit contains color-coded and bar-coded vials, with sterile cotton stoppers, to identify each sample. It was part of a research project conducted on the Space Shuttle-Mir missions, a joint effort of the United States and Russia in multi-month stays on the Russian space station during the 1990s.

NASA transferred this kit and various other items from in-orbit research to the Museum after the Space Shuttle program ended in 2012.

Display Status

This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.

Object Details
Country of Origin Russia? Type EQUIPMENT-Scientific Devices Dimensions 3-D (Closed): 14.3 × 4.7 × 12.2cm (5 5/8 × 1 7/8 × 4 13/16 in.)
3-D (Open): 36.5 × 2.1 × 12.2cm (14 3/8 × 13/16 × 4 13/16 in.)
Materials synthetic fabric, plastic, velcro, paper, elastic
Inventory Number A20120309000 Credit Line Transferred from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.